The wreck occurred when Jimmie Johnson ran out of fuel on the final lap and Jamie McMurray tagged him from behind coming out of Turn 4, sending both drivers crashing into the outside wall and igniting a huge crash. Bowyer got the worst of it, getting knocked across the track and flipping his car into the frontstretch grass. Also involved were Michael Waltrip, Martin Truex Jr., Carl Edwards and David Ragan.

“I feel terrible," Johnson said. "Terrible to tear up that many racecars and see the 15 (Bowyer) flip. I feel terrible and want to apolgize to everyone. I tried to get up out of the way, I had my hand out the window, but the last lap coming to the checkered, there is so much going on right there, so much energy in the pack, I knew we were going to get run over if we ran out. Thankfully everyone is all right and I certainly feel bad for all the torn-up racecars."

Johnson was challenging Gordon for second when McMurray hit him fron behind, starting the big crash. It was the third big crash during Speedweeks, following a big one in the Sprint Unlimited and another in practice on Wednesday. Bowyer was the second driver to get airborne, following Parker Kligerman's flip and roll on Wednesday.

“He had his hand out the window. I think he lost his momentum and Jamie just clipped him there," Michael Waltrip said of the crash. "I had a car right in front of me and I moved up a little bit and tapped another car. I’m the owner of that 15 car and I thought I saw him flipping and he landed on his wheels and we unfortunately popped the inside wall."

Hamlin won his second straight race and third straight dating back to last year. Coming off a serious back injury, Hamlin won the season finale last year and then the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday. His Joe Gibbs Racing team also swept the two qualifying races, with Matt Kenseth winning the first one, setting the two teammates up as the favorites to win Sunday's Daytona 500.

“We won a NASCAR golf tournament this morning so we are really undefeated," he said. "Everything has been going great. Once that snowball starts to roll it’s hard to stop it and right now we are just on a heck of a run."

Hamlin took the lead after a series of green-flag pit stops on Lap 37 and led a lead pack that included Kurt Busch, Gordon and Johnson.

Brad Keselowski took control of the race early and led 36 laps before getting nabbed for speeding on pit road during the green-flag pit stop on Lap 37. After serving a pass-thru penalty, Keselowski then had a flat tire and had to pit again.

Truex started on the pole, but Keselowski took the lead on Lap 2 and paced the single-file draft with Ford teammate Carl Edwards tucked onto his bumper. The lead pack pulled away into a 10-car draft and ran single file for the first 36 laps of the race. The top seven positions did not change until the leaders all pitted on Lap 37.

After the pit stops, Hamlin took control with Gordon and Busch riding behind them. After Johnson's move, Gordon and Busch were able to avoid the melee and follow Hamlin across the finish line.

“It was a pretty calm race for us," Gordon said. "We got into a good position and just kept seeing everybody back up and back up to get that big run when the white flag came out. We had a good run as well and they split up behind us and then it ws just chaos until the end."

Hamlin is now a heavy favorite to win the Daytona 500, though no driver has ever swept all three events during Speedweeks. Hamlin, though, is confident.

“Just keep doing whatt we’re doing. We’re on a roll obviously. We executed the race today great," Hamlin said. "… The goal was just to get ourselves in position in the top 10 within a second of those guys when they pitted so I could rely on our pit crew to do the rest. The pit crew got us out there in the lead. …

“I just kinda watched and learned what happened in the first Duel with the 20 (Kenseth). He decided to keep the high line going even on the white-flag lap. I felt like protecting the bottom early, with a lap to go, was better for us. It was a good executed race."

Team owner Joe Gibbs likes what he sees from his organization, especially Hamlin's team.

“Last year was so hard on us and (winning at) Homestead was a huge deal for us," Gibbs said. "That was a big win and gave everygody their confidence going into the offseason. Denny has worked extremely hard and I think we’re all hungry."